Jason Ajemian once lived in Zen temple, where he unlearned all of the breathing techniques he picked up from his formal jazz training and began to try something deeper than musical rhythm.

It’s an experience that defines his music to this day, through a technique called “breath process music,” in which each player in his band plays to his or her own pace and feeling.

In fact, Ajemian, a member of the underground experimental music scene in Chicago, always shines when his bass lines seem to come out of nowhere. Songs like “Ask Mr. Blount Now Suite,” from his 2014 LP “Folklords,” celebrate music that come from the gut, not the brain.

“We are from the ‘feeling is first’ school,” he said.

It can be difficult to define Ajemian’s music. That’s because, while it draws from influences that range from Rufus Reid — whom he studied under — and Robert Palmer, it seems to try, almost too hard, to defy classification.

“Much like Robert Palmer, I’m looking for clues,” Ajemian said. When asked to elaborate — was Palmer a hero? — Ajemian remained elusive, much like his own music.

“I wouldn’t call Robert a hero, nor any other musician,” he said. “Aquaman’s a hero.”